Salamanca (New York)

Salamanca is in Cattaraugus County in the state of New York.

Understand

Salamanca is part of the Allegany reservation.

Get in

By car

You may take Old State Route 17 in from Red House, Interstate 86 from Jamestown, and several other highways in and around.

By plane

The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Bradford Regional Airport (BFD ^IATA) in Bradford, Pennsylvania, which is served with daily commuter flights from Pittsburgh via Southern Airways Express: four on weekdays, two on Saturdays, and three on Sundays. In practice, however, arriving in Salamanca by plane usually means flying into Buffalo Niagara International Airport.

By bus

• Coach USA buses arrive and depart from the corner of Central and Linden Avenues, in front of the Corner Deli.

Service from Jamestown via Randolph and Little Valley.

Service from Olean.

• Fullington Trailways buses arrive and depart from the Dudley Hotel at 132 Main Street.

Service from DuBois via St. Marys, Bradford, and various points in between.

Service from Buffalo via Springville, Ellicottville, and various points in between.

See

• 1 Salamanca Rail Museum, 170 N. Main St., ☏ +1 716 945-3133. Tu, Th & Sa 10AM-4PM. It's no stretch to say that Salamanca would not exist today but for the railroads. The low-lying swampland on which the city was built was useless to the Seneca but vital as a transportation link through the hilly terrain of the local area, and by the turn of the century there were no fewer than three lines — the Erie, the Pennsylvania, and the Buffalo, Rochester & Pittsburgh — passing through town, by which tens of thousands of bundles of wood from the thick forests of southern Cattaraugus County were shipped every day to lumber markets nationwide. Today, the handsome old BR&P depot has been fully restored and reopened as a museum detailing Salamanca's railroad history through historic artifacts, old photos, and engaging video presentations. Donation. (updated Feb 2020)
• 2 Seneca Iroquois National Museum (Onöhsagwë:de' Cultural Center), 82 W. Hetzel St., ☏ +1 716 945-1760. Tu-Sa 9AM-5PM. The Seneca Iroquois National Museum trends more toward the dry/educational end of the spectrum than the engaging/entertaining, but if you have a more-than-passive scholarly interest in Seneca history, ethnology, religion, art, handicrafts, traditional medicine, etc. etc. ad nauseam, this museum's vast collection covers all those topics exhaustively. A special emphasis is placed on the 1965 construction of the Kinzua Dam downriver in Pennsylvania (more on that later), a tragic chapter in Seneca history whereby 10,000 acres (4,000 ha) of tribal land, including some of the most fertile farmland and important cultural sites on the reservation, were condemned and are now under the water of the Allegheny Reservoir. Outdoors there's an amphitheater where traditional cultural performances of various types are hosted. $9.50; seniors, students and military veterans $6; children 7-17 $5.25, children 6 and under free. (updated Feb 2020)

Do

• The Crosspatch, 5281 Baker Rd., ☏ +1 716 938-6313. (updated Jan 2018)

Eat

• Myers Steak House, 460 Wildwood Ave, ☏ +1 716 945-3153. 11:30AM-10PM. (updated May 2015)

Sleep

• 1 Seneca Allegany Resort & Casino, 777 Seneca Allegany Blvd (South of I-86 on Route 417), ☏ +1 716 299-1100, toll-free: +1 888-913-3377. Check-in: 4PM, check-out: 11AM. $105 per night. (updated May 2015)
• White Pine Lodge, 779 Broad St, ☏ +1 716 945-7600. $109 per night. (updated May 2015)

Go next

• Allegany State Park

Routes through Salamanca

Jamestown ← Randolph ←	W  E	→ Olean → Elmira
Buffalo ← Ellicottville ← Jct N ←	N  S	→ Bradford → DuBois
Buffalo ← Little Valley ←	N  S	→ Bradford → DuBois